Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stock Position in United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS) by 0.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,379,666 shares of the transportation company’s stock after buying an additional 297 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $188,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UPS. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in United Parcel Service by 1.4% in the second quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New increased its stake in shares of United Parcel Service by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 7,508 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Gleason Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Parcel Service by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 6,496 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $889,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. boosted its position in United Parcel Service by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 15,837 shares of the transportation company’s stock valued at $2,167,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Horan Capital Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in United Parcel Service by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Horan Capital Advisors LLC. now owns 23,029 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $3,152,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 60.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on UPS. StockNews.com raised shares of United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on United Parcel Service from $134.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Argus upgraded United Parcel Service from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on United Parcel Service from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on United Parcel Service from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.52.

United Parcel Service Stock Performance

Shares of UPS opened at $134.07 on Friday. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.12 and a 52 week high of $163.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $114.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $132.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.67.

United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The transportation company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.10 billion. United Parcel Service had a return on equity of 37.38% and a net margin of 6.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Parcel Service Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.86%. United Parcel Service’s dividend payout ratio is currently 98.49%.

About United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service, Inc, a package delivery company, provides transportation and delivery, distribution, contract logistics, ocean freight, airfreight, customs brokerage, and insurance services. It operates through two segments, U.S. Domestic Package and International Package. The U.S. Domestic Package segment offers time-definite delivery of express letters, documents, small packages, and palletized freight through air and ground services in the United States.